Goodbye Nuggie girl, momma misses you so much already

by Josselin Huskey
(Magnolia, Texas )

Today I lost my girl, Nuggie. I feel overwhelmed with sadness and feel like I can’t share this without people making me feel silly or making chicken jokes.

Here is Nuggie's story:

When the pandemic hit last year my family and I decided just like the rest of the world that we would plant a garden and get chickens for eggs.

I didn’t actually wanted chickens. One day my husband showed up with 10 baby chicks, a day old.

Immediately I fell in love with them but knew I had to get myself together and figure out how to be a chicken mom.

Days went by and my little babies were thriving. One of them, however, was a bit larger than the others. I named her “Nuggie”. They were all exactly the same so Nuggie was the only one I could recognize because of her size.

Days went by and summer hit in Texas. My big chicken seemed to be struggling. She was sooo big compared to her sisters. I kept her cool and did some research.

Turns out Nuggie was a Cornish Cross which is a meat chicken. She must’ve gotten mixed up when they were separated at the feed store. They’re designed to grow at a fast rate so they can be eaten at 6 weeks. Due to their rápido growth they tend to have heart issues and die along with leg issues.

Everyone said we should eat her but how could I?! I raised that little baby. She was beautiful and would always walk right up to me and look up to me.

I would tell everyone about my fat chicken. Everyone knew about her. Everyone made jokes but they also always asked how she was doing. Before we had a chicken coop they would roost on a tree but Nuggie couldn’t get up there, so she would get the highest she could which was usually on top of a log.

So I would carry her to a small kennel I had. Everyday Nuggie would be the last one to get in the coop. She would take her sweet time going up that ramp.

She started having a hard time getting down in the mornings so I started opening the big door and carrying her down. She knew the way it was. The second I opened that door she would run to me. Yes, I said run. She could really run fast for how big she was.

She would always make her little sounds and never failed to be right at my feet when I was around. Her sisters would go do their own thing but Nuggie always came to hang out with me and then going with them.

I kept food away from her and let her free range. She was always so content and always hung out with the gang. She loved her sisters.

On June 14, they turned one year old. I had lost two of them at that point. The first one was Lola and I cried so much about her. The other one was Floppy.

I knew when the day came and I had to say goodbye to Nuggie, I knew it would hurt. That was my girl. I loved watching her be herself and have millions of videos and pictures of her.

On their birthday they ate frozen berries which is their favorite. The day after their birthday I went to open the coop. All of them came out so I called out her name like I usually do so she would start walking towards me.

I opened the big door and there she was...laying dead. My heart shattered.

My sweet Nuggie girl. I miss you so much it hurts. I love you and will always keep our memories fresh in my mind.

Rest In Peace sweet girl.